This is book two for me out of the three YA novels nominated for a California Young Reader Medal this year. As I mentioned before, I’m trying to get a jump start on reading some of the nominees before the students start scrambling for the books.

I actually enjoyed this one more than St. Iggy, and they are actually rather easy to compare. Both deal with dysfunctional families and a young person trying to find his/her place in the world and his/her voice. Unlike Iggy’s parents who have abandoned him in favor of drugs and alcohol, Deanna’s parents have simply checked out emotionally. While part of the problem is that her father caught her with a high school boy when she was only thirteen, you get the sense that the problems started long before this, that she was with Tommy simply because she needed male attention and felt alone and neglected–a feeling many girls can probably relate to if they do not get positive love and attention from their fathers.

Like with last year’s CYRM nominees, I wonder whether young readers will really pick up on these nuances. Will young readers understand the very real problems that underlie the family dysfunction? Will they be able to grasp the transformation she goes through as she begins to forgive those who have hurt her? Will they be able to sympathize with her need to apologize for things people don’t know she has even done?

These are issues that we all struggle with even as adults. I’m just not sure that my middle school readers will really get it.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the book. I did feel like there was a discrepancy between Deanna’s sometimes immaturity and occasional deep insights. One scene in particular stands out: when her friend Lee is asking for advice about whether or not to have sex with her boyfriend. I felt like what Deanna wanted to tell her friend was incredibly mature–insights into the emotional aspect of a sexual relationship that I think is a little unrealistic for a sixteen-year-old, no matter how experienced or inexperienced she may be. Yet, what she actually says to her friend ends up showing a lack of maturity that is at odds with what she thinks, though much more realistic given her age and situation.

Overall, I thing the book is well done. There are lots of issues to bring up with a young reader, including why young girls might choose to have sex in the first place. Other issues to be aware of include underage drinking, drug use, and bullying.

So, some changes around here.  The poor book review aspect of my website has been sadly neglected.  I started a separate blog for a while, but also started to neglect that one.  In an attempt to stay up to date with my blogging, I’ve decided to make a few changes.  While I won’t be removing my previous book reviews, I will not be adding any in the old format; all new book reviews will be here on this blog.  I’ll try to be very thorough with the tagging so that you can easily find the reviews you are looking for.

But now, on to the book reviews…or, at least what I hope will be the first of many.

Saint Iggy.  This is the first of this year’s California Young Readers Medal nominees that I have managed to read.  Last year, I crammed all of the YA nominees into a three week reading binge.  This year, I’d like to give myself a bit more time.  I also thought it would be nice to be able to talk about the books with my students before the deadline for voting.

This was definitely an interesting read, partly because I’m such a sucker for interesting narrative techniques.  The narrative in this book attempts to give you a glimpse into the mind of a young man who has ADHD.  While most young people will not read it as such, this story is really about the tragedy of the failure of the educational system to meet the needs of a boy from the projects with a learning disability.  What I also liked about it was that it was unpredictable; you really don’t see the end coming until you’re there.  The flip side of this attribute is that the story does seem to drag a bit, the plot wandering around as much as the pitiable protagonist.  Thankfully, it is a short book, but I do wonder if it will be able to hold the attention of some of the younger readers.

A quick warning for any adults considering this book for young readers: lots of drug use in the book.  The main character avoids them because he has seen their evils–both his parents are adicts, he was born an adict himself, and his best friend is getting caught up in the violence associated with drug use.   Thankfully, the anti-drug message does not come across too strong, but it is quite clearly there, making this novel a wonderful way to open up the topic with the young  people in your life.